Chapter 82 - 81: Assassination
Linyuan City wasn’t massive, but it wasn’t small either.
The annihilation of a family was no small affair, so the other major families went to investigate.
What they saw sent them into an uproar.
Wei Jisheng, who had been plotting with them against Chen Yuan just that morning, had been beheaded by nightfall.
The Wei Family—once prosperous and second in power only to the Sun Family among the four major houses—had been utterly wiped out and their home ransacked!
In the Sun Family’s Council Hall, Qiao Haiduan of the Cyan Scale Gang and Yang Lin of the Yang Family both wore looks of panic.
This incident had truly exceeded their expectations.
No previous Guardian Envoy had ever acted like Chen Yuan, striking so ruthlessly and going for the kill right from the start.
How did he dare? Wasn’t he afraid of causing real trouble?
At that moment, the two of them even felt a bit fortunate that Chen Yuan hadn’t chosen them.
Wei Jisheng had been a cut above both of them in strength, yet he was still killed by Chen Yuan.
If Chen Yuan had picked them, they would have met the same fate.
Suddenly, Sun Tiancheng slammed his palm on the table, leaving a deep Palm Seal in the wood.
"Damn it! Wantonly slaughtering Jianghu Forces... that bastard is completely lawless!"
The Sun Family’s ancestor, Sun Shaoqiu, narrowed his eyes and said faintly, "It wasn’t wanton. The evidence of the Wei Family’s smuggling has already fallen into that Chen Tian’s hands. He had both the culprits and the goods. How can you call that wanton?
Not only will he not be punished, he’ll likely be commended by his superiors.
You should be grateful that we’ve always kept our businesses and ledgers separate.
Otherwise, if our ledgers fell into his hands and he submitted them to his superiors, do you think Qi Yuanming would protect us, no matter how much we paid him?"
Sun Shaoqiu closed his eyes and sighed. "We misjudged him. I originally thought he was just an arrogant junior who had never faced a setback and didn’t know his own limits.
I never expected him to be a sharp, swift blade. He strikes with such ruthless decisiveness, leaving no room for recourse, no chance to even react.
Truly, in the Jianghu, the new waves push the old. The younger generation is to be feared."
At this, Sun Shaoqiu’s eyes snapped open. His previously kind and benevolent face was now replaced with a ferocious glint in his eyes.
"Go find Gu Hongyuan. Have him kill that Chen Tian! He is to make his move tomorrow!"
A look of fear appeared in Qiao Haiduan’s eyes. "Him again? The price for his services is steep. Last time, to kill Peng Jing, he demanded over a hundred people from us.
Ancestor, working with him is like asking a tiger for its skin. I’m afraid that one day he’ll fly into a rage and kill us too.
You know what the people of his lineage are like. Every one of them is unhinged. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been jointly wiped out by the Major Sects back then.
The last Guardian Envoy died just a month ago, and now we’re going to kill another one. Zhenwu Hall will definitely get suspicious."
"His blade is already at our throats! If we don’t ask the tiger for its skin, we’re all dead anyway!"
Sun Shaoqiu’s usual mild-mannered demeanor was gone, replaced by a sharp and decisive intensity that was nothing like a centenarian’s.
"If we must ask the tiger for its skin, then so be it! Without Gu Hongyuan, we have no way to deal with the tribes on the Grassland and open up the trade routes.
Besides, we’ve already killed one Guardian Envoy. What’s one more?
As for whether Zhenwu Hall gets suspicious, we’ll worry about that later!"
Once Sun Shaoqiu made his decision, Qiao Haiduan and Yang Lin didn’t dare to object. Besides, they had no other ideas.
The two men didn’t dare to leave until dawn. They didn’t rest, either, immediately ordering their subordinates to lock down their family compounds and gang headquarters, assuming a posture of defending against an external enemy.
The three families also agreed that if anything happened, they would immediately send a signal, and the other two would provide support at a moment’s notice.
In truth, the two of them would have preferred to stay at the Sun Family estate, where it was safer.
However, they had their own disciples and gang members to consider. If they weren’t present when Chen Yuan decided to strike, the Martial Artists left to defend their homes wouldn’t stand a chance.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere inside the Garrison Mansion was festive.
The Wei Family’s wealth was on a completely different level from the Qingyang Palace’s; it was incredibly abundant.
The twenty percent share of the profits given to the White Tiger Guards was worth twice as much as what they received from destroying the Qingyang Palace.
As usual, Chen Yuan first confiscated all the Spiritual Medicine and Elixirs from the Wei Family.
Although the Wei Family didn’t possess any truly exceptional Elixirs, they had a considerable number of Low Grade Elixirs, and he even found a few bottles of Middle Grade Elixirs.
For a family of the Wei Family’s level, possessing such resources was already quite impressive.
The Middle Grade Elixirs, in particular, were reserved exclusively for Direct Lineage Disciples to use when breaking through bottlenecks.
But now that they were in Chen Yuan’s hands, he would use them as ordinary cultivation pills.
External objects are, after all, just external objects. They had been reluctant to use them, and in the end, it all just benefited someone else.
’My neighbor stocks up on grain, I stock up on guns; my neighbor is my granary.’
Only strength is fundamental. That statement is a truth that holds for any era.
However, after wiping out the Wei Family, Chen Yuan suddenly felt that there was more to them than met the eye. It seemed Wei Jisheng had been plotting something.
Otherwise, why were there so many imprisoned Jianghu People from outside the city in the Wei Family’s secret chamber?
Unless Wei Jisheng had some peculiar fetish, he was definitely plotting some unspeakable secret in the shadows.
Something even more serious than smuggling contraband to the Grassland. After all, as long as smuggling wasn’t brought out into the open, it wasn’t considered a major crime.
Chen Yuan tapped his fingers on the table unconsciously. He suddenly made a connection to the death of the previous Guardian Envoy, Peng Jing.
Originally, Chen Yuan had no intention of investigating Peng Jing’s death, nor did he see any need to.
Whether that Guardian Envoy had offended someone, touched upon someone’s interests, or had truly died by accident, it had little to do with Chen Yuan.
But now, it seemed likely. ’Could that Guardian Envoy have died because he saw something he wasn’t supposed to see?’
Just then, Lu Wenxing knocked and entered, handing Chen Yuan a list of the assets seized from the Wei Family.
"My lord, should we still send a portion of these things to Master Feng?"
Chen Yuan shook his head. "No need. We’ll keep it for now. Put it in the Garrison Mansion’s treasury."
The last time he sent a gift to Feng Wushang, it was mainly to smooth things over after he killed Huo Tianying.
This time, he had wiped out the Wei Family and found plenty of ledgers detailing their smuggling. He had both the culprits and the evidence, so his actions were perfectly in line with the rules. There was no need to send Feng Wushang another gift.
More importantly, one couldn’t give gifts too frequently, nor could one give too much at once.
It had to be a gradual process, from small amounts to large, offering a pleasant surprise each time.
Otherwise, if you fed them too much at once, giving less the next time might even have the opposite effect.
"By the way, Old Lu, what kind of person was the previous Guardian Envoy, Peng Jing?"
Lu Wenxing thought for a moment before replying, "That Peng Guardian Envoy was actually quite ordinary. He was in his early forties, with decent qualifications. He joined after the Celestial Martial Alliance was absorbed into the Zhenwu Hall.
In terms of his conduct, the Guardian Envoy was rather mediocre. As soon as he took office, he hosted a banquet and invited the four major families of Linyuan City. His attitude was so deferential that even we couldn’t stand to watch.
He didn’t make any major moves during his tenure. It was clear he was just here to build up his resume."
Chen Yuan frowned slightly. ’Who would want to kill such a mediocre man?’
Chen Yuan didn’t dwell on the matter. After dismissing Lu Wenxing, he began to refine Elixirs and cultivate.
He had now reached the late stage of the Qi Casting Realm and needed to condense a vast amount of Inner Strength to prepare for opening his Reincarnation Sea.
Chen Yuan’s foundation of power was profound, but for that very reason, the difficulty of opening his Reincarnation Sea would be even greater.
He cultivated from day to night. Just as his mind was fully immersed in his practice, his eyes snapped open, and he gazed out the window.
A bone-chilling killing intent lingered on the roof, aimed directly at him.
In the next instant, a thread of blood-red light abruptly pierced through the roof, descending without a sound, aimed straight for his Skull.
Chen Yuan snorted coldly. He activated the Fish Dragon Transformation, erupting in a burst of speed to dodge the bloody thread.
The next moment, Chen Yuan burst through the window. With a clang, his saber left its sheath. Demonic Qi erupted as he slashed straight at the figure.
The person on the roof seemed surprised by the keenness of Chen Yuan’s Spiritual Sense.
He faltered for a second, but his movements were incredibly fast. In an instant, his entire body transformed into a bloody shadow, dodging Chen Yuan’s slash.
Then, with a strange laugh, he turned and leaped down, fleeing the Garrison Mansion.
The Garrison Mansion was patrolled at night, and tonight’s watch was led by Yu Dong, one of the four Captains.
However, the intruder was too powerful. Yu Dong, who was only at the Early Stage of the Qi Casting Realm, hadn’t even noticed him.
It wasn’t until Chen Yuan made his move that Yu Dong realized someone had dared to trespass in the Garrison Mansion!
"Halt, villain!"
Yu Dong roared, and Sword Qi flared from his Long Sword, instantly splitting into several phantoms that slashed toward the intruder.
But in the next moment, a bloody light flared. The Sword Qi from Yu Dong’s hand dissolved, and his Long Sword was instantly twisted and torn apart.
An incredibly sinister power traveled along his True Qi and into his body, where it bizarrely began to drain his Qi Blood.
In the blink of an eye, Yu Dong’s right arm was dripping with blood as a large amount of his Qi Blood burst from his body, his face instantly turning pale.
Chen Yuan took a single step, appearing instantly in front of Yu Dong and pressing a palm to his back.
He channeled the Sutra of the Pure Glazed Vajra to its absolute limit, pouring brilliant Buddha Light into Yu Dong’s body, which finally expelled the sinister power.
"Thank you, my lord!"
Yu Dong’s face was pale, his expression one of lingering fear.
If not for Chen Yuan, he would have lost an arm, if not his life!
"Notify the others. Search the surrounding streets immediately and see if there are any other ambushes.
I will pursue him. This person is incredibly strong. Do not engage him directly. Flee on sight."
After giving his orders to Yu Dong, Chen Yuan activated the Fish Dragon Transformation, unleashing his maximum speed to chase the intruder.
The assailant was after him, and Chen Yuan feared this was a ploy to lure the tiger from its mountain—a deliberate attempt to lead him into a trap. That was why he had dispatched all the White Tiger Guards to search the area.
Using the Fish Dragon Transformation as a Lightweight Skill provided immense explosive power. Accompanied by a series of rapid sonic booms, Chen Yuan quickly closed the distance between himself and the figure ahead.
Seeing that he couldn’t shake Chen Yuan, the figure suddenly stopped and turned, flashing Chen Yuan a chilling smile.
"I was going to let you live one more day, but you just had to give chase. Since you’re in such a hurry to die, I’ll be happy to oblige!"